LEBANON, 15 June 2020 – Groups of protesters and demonstrators in Lebanon have become increasingly extreme due to the economic downturn and currency depreciation as impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.

It was reported that the demonstrators hurl stones and petrol bombs at security forces, banks and government buildings in Beirut and Tripoli.

Tensions in Lebanon have been heightened in October 2019 and have since subsided in March 2020 following the implementation of movement control order and lockdown to control the infectivity of the COVID-19 pandemic.

As a result, it is sending the country’s economy reeling. Thousands have lost their jobs while daily wage workers did not receive their salaries from employers.

Most of the population is no longer able to afford the daily necessities to survive.

Islamic Relief Lebanon is currently monitoring the situation closely and planning for appropriate responses.